The recent plethora of blog posts and articles written about the Conservative movement would force even the most casual reader to understand the challenges being confronted by this segment of the Jewish community. Because numbers within the movement have declined, and synagogues and day schools have been forced to either close doors or merge, some observers have predicted the death of Conservative Judaism, with others acknowledging the challenges and proposing various solutions to increase the number of adherents.

In the course of less than a decade, my mother went from independent living to assisted living and, following one quick event, to a skilled nursing facility that specialized in dementia. Her path from enjoying her evening cocktail to having to be fed by family and aides is a path now shared by many of our loved ones. We take that journey with them, juggling work, our own families, and our own lives.

On June 1, tens of thousands of New Yorkers will gather for the annual Celebrate Israel Parade. As in previous years, we at the New Israel Fund (NIF) will be there, leading a group of progressive, pro-Israel activists. We will take our rightful place alongside the many others dedicated to the Israel that is, as well as the Israel that ought to be.

When I was growing up, one of the running jokes in my family was how annoying it is that Germans make good cars.

As an Israeli-Ashkenazi, three generations removed from the Holocaust, it was obvious to me that buying a German car was not an option, and that it doesn't really matters who wins the World Cup in soccer -- as long as it's not Germany.

The Talmud teaches that: “The world endures only for the sake of the breath of school children.” It is in that spirit that the Jewish people have valued education so highly for thousands of years. That statement also reflects a profound truth: Education is the key to a healthy, productive society, and to individual physical, emotional and spiritual flourishing. Unfortunately, that precious breath is being cut short for thousands of schoolchildren in Rockland County.